Council ‘appalled’ at new Thame bus route

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ARRIVA has been awarded the tender to provide a new bus service linking new housing south of Thame to the town centre. The X8 and 280 buses will be diverted along Park Street, Chinnor Road and Wenman Road, once every hour each, there and back, between 6am and 11pm.

But this choice of route, which includes passing a primary school in the narrow, often congested Park Street, has ‘appalled’ Thame Town Councillors, after the council’s Transport Representative, Cllr Mary Stiles commented at a council meeting this week, that at a meeting with the County Council, this was exactly the route that both she and Thame’s Town Clerk had asked NOT to be considered.

The council’s minutes of the meeting, state: “It was a prime example of a decision being made remotely by a person with no knowledge of Thame and no consultation with the Town Council. Cllr Stiles stated that the Town Clerk continued to push for a meeting with the County Council.”

Local people have taken to social media to express their views on the proposed new route, which is due to start in three weeks. Jo Ryan posted: “It’ll be carnage; I can’t picture how the route will work as the only logical way in/out would route it along the bypass via Chinnor road, which is mostly impassable for anything other than a pair of smart cars most of the day.”

Mike Deacock said: “It’s ludicrous and attempting the bridge by Pheonix court! Stupidity at its height!” Mike Dyer added: “…The route isn’t fit for purpose so do we roll over or do we fight it? No contest in my mind.”

Catherine Jones posted: “And as for the double bend on the railway bridge! I wouldn’t want to meet as double-decker coming the other way. Squish!”

Kath Bacon: ” ….and if a bus meets a fire engine….”

Members of the council’s Planning & Environment Committee agreed to encourage the residents of Park Street and Chinnor Road to write to County Councillor, Nick Carter, copying the Leader of the County Council, to voice their concerns.

Comments

7 responses to “Council ‘appalled’ at new Thame bus route”

10/11/2017

Will

I live on Chinnor Rd, and welcome the new route. If access is an issue, it is due to mainly to lack of parking restrictions than anything else.
14/10/2017

David Diprose

I was born in Thame 71 years ago and I welcome a bit of modernisation. The council was perfectly happy to let houses be built on Wenman Road, so why shouldn’t we have a bus? Park Street is diabolical, just a collection of bumps and potholes. Make it one-way and resurface it. Tell the council to act for us, not only for themselves.
03/10/2017

Nick

Perhaps it’s time to consider making some of these roads a one way system.
Inconsiderate parking makes them difficult to navigate at the best of times.
Maybe this proposed route could be used as an opportunity to improve things.
29/09/2017

Tom Wyse

A double decker bus is not ideal for Thame roads. As a council we will be trying in future to get the money to run a Hopper bus around all the estates in Thame.
29/09/2017

Really annoyed

Interesting choice considering they scrapped the 260 bus route so locals can’t get to work, buts its fine to build a housing estate that locals cannot afford and give the people who have no idea about rural living buses becasue they have had to move out of that nasty city!
29/09/2017

Hugh Jarse

Obviously a decision taken by someone who has looked at a map and has never been to Thame or driven these roads. The only sensible bus route to these new houses has to be out on Kingsey Rd, then round the bypass. The double bend over the railway, the parking on both sides of Chinnor road and the narrow stretch of Park Street make this a laughable proposal!
29/09/2017

Tim eele

These roads are impassable at the best of times but adding double decker it will become an even bigger nightmare.
Will it be made a oneway system?